Old Grudges

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"We will save her, sire!" Rothain shouted, fighting to make a path to the doorway for his king. It was proving harder than he thought. More people were coming in than going out. It was looking like it would be better to head toward the window and try for a jump. "Dahlia is alive. I must believe that." He whispered to himself. 

Marid shook his head, "Go haunt something, woman. I must work..." He disappeared back into the cave, now scowling down at the mirror image of his wife. "Your father is in the middle of a war between humans and dwarves. Shall we go and save him?" He asked Dahlia.

"We have to save Iris." Rothain grunted as they shouldered their way through shouting humans. They were following the elf king who was floating above the crowd, well out of reach of the rest of them. 
Saul was watching them from the throne room window, his lips set in a grim line. He wasn't going to let Dahlia get away. He knew all he had to do was get a war started for her to show up again. This didn't surprise him at all.

"What happened?" Dahlia breathed, trying to keep them moving and also make sure no harm was coming to her father. "And how can we save her, if we are dead?"
The young Fae woman had no idea the human king had developed such an obsession with the deal they had made.

"A dwarf burst in and started saying he wanted his wife back. He demanded the king give her to him and kept throwing his weight around until the human king got involved." Rothain explained, knowing this wasn't the time to be asking questions on the state of his king or the reason he was floating. "The human came in and said he was tired of us hiding you and he had wasted enough time waiting. The two men jointed forces and attacked. It's not very well thought out but...Iris is gone with the dwarves at least."

Dahlia felt the weight of the events press down on her like the unseen will of her djinni. "Then... I need to speak with Saul." She commented. "If he only joined forces because of me, maybe I can offer compromise to have him aid us instead?" She suggested.

"I don't even want to know what kind of deal you offered him the last time." Rothain muttered, frowning at the floating king. "It's not open to discussion. I won't hear of it so don't bring it back up. However...I would like for you explain why your father is floating ahead of us this way."

Dahlia shot Rothain a scathing glance when he basically forbade her to do something. "You say that like I just asked permission." She snapped, avoiding the issue of the djinni completely.

"As if you ever ask permission to do anything." Rothain whispered, refusing to look at her as their odd trio disappeared into the woods. "So you're not going to tell me that you've been away in the woods learning witchery from an elven witch?"

Dahlia sighed heavily and stabbed her blade into a nearby tree once they were deep enough into the forest. "Yes, Ro. I was in the woods learning magic." She growled. "I left home, and the only people I cared about to stay with a stranger!"

"That's the only way I can think to describe it." Rothain grunted as he dropped down on the ground beside the king. He checked the elder man over, worried by the fact that he was now dry and seemed to be free of any kind of wounds. "You've been gone for nine months. There was no word from you or anything else. It's been hell, Dal. You have no idea."

"Yes, no idea." Dahlia replied darkly, hating to hear that Rothain had such little trust that he thought she simply abandoned them. "Of course, how could the poor little princess understand anything?" She added bitterly, stomping into the trees to look for firewood.

"Well? How does it feel to be back with that ignorant wood elf? Is it the romantic reunion you were hoping for?" Marid asked, appearing next to a tiny pile of sticks. "It didn't seem to me like you were very happy to see him." 

"Sire..." Rothain was gently shaking the king, trying to get him to open his eyes. He was more than a little worried there had been serious damage done to the elder man. "Sire, please. Tell me you're okay..."

Dahlia didn't look at Marid right away, too ashamed to let him see how easily Rothain had wounded her. "You have things confused... He is the one who wasn't happy." She breathed. "He thinks I chose to abandon them both."

"Where is my sword?" Abalas murmured, seeming like he had merely been sleeping. "At least tell me you didn't take it from me before pushing me from the window..."

Marid chuckled at this. "That's too bad, isn't it?" He purred, already knowing exactly what she felt like. "I was getting something from your thoughts earlier. He trained you, didn't he? If that's the case...how come you are such a terrible fighter? I saw him in that battle to become king. You missed so much..." 

Rothain sighed, pulling it out of the scabbard at his back. "Freezing over the pond, your highness? Before I'd landed? Was that really necessary?" He muttered, holding out the sacred blade to the elder elf.

Dahlia's violet gaze snapped up to look at Marid, quite obviously resenting what he had just said. "I can fight just fine, without the need for magic to save me." She hissed. 

"You think I froze myself inside a pond?" Abalas muttered as he sat himself up. "Thank you, I'm glad you think me so dim witted."

"I never saw him use magick either. Perhaps he was respecting the fact that you didn't. I do not know any elves that don't know some form of elemental..." Marid said from where he began tossing twigs at her. "But that strange body of water...he did that. How interesting." 

"It wasn't your best move." Rothain snapped. He resented both father and daughter having called him ignorant that day.

Dahlia scowled and pulled one of the twigs from where it had settled in her dark hair. "It doesn't matter. Thanks to you, he no longer trusts me." She replied.

"Boy, this is not the time to be arguing over who did what. We have two armies on our doorstep." Abalas told Rothain gently. "How did we even manage to get... here?" He added, finally glancing around at their location.

"Are you sure it's that bad? Maybe he's just upset that you haven't opened your legs for him." Marid said, his tone dark. "Your mother...she was much more free with herself. Perhaps you should try it." He had stopped throwing twigs, a row of firewood appearing before the young woman. "You'll be surprised what doors it will open for you." 

"You were floating and talking in a strange voice. For a moment I thought Dahlia was doing it, but she was looking at you as strangely as I was. Your hair will need a trim...the humans were slicing at it while we were fighting to get through them." Rothain explained. He leaned back against a tree, rubbing his hands over his face.

"They would be doors I would much rather remained closed, if that is indeed true." Dahlia whispered. "Rothain spent many years bedding my sister... I can't allow myself to be just like her."

"Dahlia?" the king was frowning now, even seeming not to care what had happened to his long hair. "Ro... You need rest. I promised I would help you, but you need to take care of yourself too." He added, thinking his friend was simply hallucinating.

Maris sighed. "There are worse things." he whispered In a rare moment of vulnerability. "You could wish for me to kill him.."

Ro couldn't help but laugh. "Now who thinks the other daft?"

"Why would I wish that?" Dahlia asked thinly. "Why do you enjoy the misery of others so much?"

"Then... Where is she?" Abalas questioned gently, casting a glance around them.

"That's none of your business, girl." Mario snapped. "Are you going to take the firewood or stand there like a fish with your mouth open. Like your mother...I swear..."

"She is gathering firewood because she is mad at me." Ro said as he got to his feet. "She hasn't changed since being gone. That much is true."

Dahlia kicked at the firewood and squared up to the creature that seemed to wish for nothing more than to torment her. "Why are you so fixated on my mother?!"

"Why would she be mad at you?" Abalas ventured as he got up to walk around, whilst rubbing at his head. "Does she know about Iris?"

"Again, none of your business." Marid growled, beginning to pace. "Can't you just wish for something so I can concentrate on making it a disaster? You're making this harder than it should be, girl."

"I accused her of using magick and hiding from us." Rothain said, refusing to look at his king. "I told her about the...this is the human's fault, sire. If you had just left her with that stupid bastard this would not be happening g now. None of it."

"Why would I make it even remotely easy for you?" Dahlia snorted. "You have been nothing but a downright ass to me since I woke up!" She huffed, kicking at the firewood again. "I keep telling ou I never asked for your help!"

"You would rather Dahlia had sold herself to that king just to make me suffer?" Abalas asked with a frown. "Rothain, if I hadn't decided the two of you should be married... Would you have even looked twice at her?" He asked, simply wanting an honest answer.

"You made a wish. It's the only reason you are still alive." Marid reminded her hatefully. "As a djinni it is my job to give you what you ask for. Now hurry up with those sticks before your elf thinks you abandoned him!" He hissed.

"I was in love with her when she was nothing but a defiant child, sire." Rothain admitted. "Why do you think I was so eager to train her? I was in love with what she would become. The  goddess I saw her growing up to be. I knew she would never have me. Training her was the only gift I could offer her to showith her how much I loved her." He whispered.

"He is not mine!" Dahlia snapped, her violet eyes betraying her feelings in that moment. "He will forever be Hers, perfect princess Gwen! I only ever tried to do the right thing, and they all still treated me like a monster! Ro even thinks it was my choice to stay away all these months! No wish will ever change that!" The dark haired Fae was trying very hard to keep herself from simply sobbing like a child and wailing that life simply wasn't fair. "I'll only ever be that annoying child he had to teach to fight because no one else would."

Rothain's heartfelt words stunned the elven king. They were both beautiful, and fierce and he knew he had made the right choice for his youngest and most precious child. "My friend, she is still that defiant child." Abalas mused, though his eyes, like Dahlia's, betrayed his emotions a little too much. The king was tired, down to his very bones. "She hides behind those blades you trained her with so well. It is a facade to mask the fear this world brings her. She is Fae, the last of her kind, and even if she never knew it... no one can hide from such a lonely fate."

Marid hated the fact that he didn't want to see the girl cry. He blamed Darla entirely. "You could wish for me to kill them. I cannot make them love you but I can hurt them. I can break them beyond repair. I'll do that for free, little girl. All you must do is ask."

"I used to imagine I could protect her from it. When I became her husband it would be so easy to make the world go away but...she began to make it clear she would never want me. I turned to Gwen. She was using me to get your attention and I just wanted to feel like someone wanted me. I could never catch the eye of someone like Dahlia. I am teacher to her, nothing more."

A dark part of Dahlia wanted to say yes. She hated feeling this way. "Seems like so many people loved my mother... Why won't anyone ever love me?" She breathed, ashamed of both that confession, and the fat tear that suddenly dripped down her cheek.

"You forget how young Dahlia is." Abalas told Rothain gently. "Even in comparison to Gwen, she is still a mere moment in time, not yet wise even by human years." He added. "My best assumption would be her adolescent feelings confused her, she saw you in the arms of her sister and she in turn fell into those of that damned human."

"you mother was young and awkward once as well, girl." Marid said softly. "she used hide in the trees because the other Faes would laugh at her wings. For while one was bigger than the other. She was terrible at flying and she tripped over her own feet. I worshipped everything she did."

Ro laughed at the idea. "I can't imagine her being jealous over me. That doesn't even sound right."

This wasn't something Dahlia expected to hear. She had so few memories of her mother that she had built up the image of a perfect woman. "You're just trying to make me feel better." Dahlia replied, unable to see the scowl that Darla was currently giving Marid.

"Then it seems you looked at her, but never saw her." Abalas remarked. "She was always there, watching you with those sad eyes of hers."